VICE President of CND UK Bruce Kent said a Yes vote in next month’s referendum would remove the Trident system from the Clyde and strike a blow for world peace.

One of Britain’s most celebrated peace campaigners has backed Scottish independence - as a way of getting rid of nuclear weapons.

Vice President of CND UK Bruce Kent said a Yes vote in next month’s referendum would remove the Trident system from the Clyde and strike a blow for world peace.

The comments are a significant boost for Alex Salmond as he prepares for tomorrow's crunch TV debate on independence with Better Together leader Alistair Darling.

The First Minister is hoping to win votes by promising to remove Trident from the Faslane base if there is a Yes vote.

London-based Kent (85) is a poster boy for the anti-nuclear cause and is well respected across the UK.

“It is quite clear that both the major Westminster parties have no intention, despite endless rhetoric, of negotiating their abolition or of getting rid of British nuclear weapons,” he said.

“At a cost of £100 billion, which could so well be used for people’s real needs, they intend to replace Trident with yet another generation of weapons of mass destruction.

“This is proof enough of how little concerned they are with the global elimination of nuclear weapons.

“My personal view is that a Yes vote in September would lead to the removal of immoral and illegal Trident from Faslane and Scotland.”

The comments come just days after the Daily Record revealed Scotland could employ an extra 2700 teachers or 3300 nurses if we got rid of Trident.

The figures emerged in research from Holyrood about alternative uses for the estimated £1billion cost of the controversial nuclear defence system to Scottish taxpayers over the next decade.

SNP MSP Bill Kidd, who Co-Chairs the Scottish Parliament cross-party group on nuclear disarmament, last night welcomed the intervention.

“These comments from highly respected anti-nuclear campaigner Bruce Kent highlight the opportunities Scotland will have to make a difference as an independent country, leading the way on nuclear disarmament,” he said.

“By taking a stand on these immoral, destructive and abhorrent weapons of mass destruction we will set a powerful example on the world stage.

“An independent Scotland’s actions to get rid of nuclear weapons have the potential to influence others across the world. We have a real opportunity to make a difference – we simply must grasp it by voting Yes.”

But Scottish Labour MSP Jackie Baillie rejected the argument that Scottish independence could make a difference to the spread of nuclear weapons.

“A vote for separation would not see the end of Trident,” she said. “It would simply see it relocated from the Clyde to another base elsewhere in the UK. Where is the morality in that?

“The only guarantee is that if we leave the UK, the jobs of 11,000 workers on the Clyde would be put at risk.”